I was commissioned to make 2 replicas of the daggers that Hei uses in the anime series Darker than Black

Since I was making 2 of these and they’re symmetrical, I decided to sculpt one half of the blade. This would be molded and cast 4 times in resin, then the resin halves assembled to make 2 complete knives. I started out by cutting the rough shape from illustration board.

I then skimmed this in apoxie sculpt to give me the beveled edges of the blade and hilt.

After bondo, primer and shaping, the finished piece was mounted to a piece of MDF for molding.

I used RTV silicone to make the mold, and casting resin for the blades.

6 copies were pulled in case I made any goofs. The mixture of resin wasn’t right on the upper right blade, so that one was scrapped.

Since the casting resin isn’t terribly rigid on its own, I carved recessed out of the blade and hilt to hold a 3/8″ steel rod to act as the core. These were glued in with gorilla glue, which expands as it dries and will ensure a tight fit.

Both blades got ‘da clamps, and dried overnight.

After that, its time for bondo, primer, and sanding! yippee…..

I originally finished these in a “clean” look, but discussed with my client the option of weathering them to make them appear more realistic. After a bit of hesitation, but it was eventually decided to go ahead with the realistic treatment: